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Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Summer began in Anchorage...

Glaciers,
Ravens & the

Pacific Northwest – Part 1

Matt Seats

Summer began in Anchorage, a city rich
with Native American culture. As one of a team of would-be student mountaineers
in Prescott College’s Wilderness Leadership summer semester course, I chose to
arrive a week early and acclimate to the around-the-clock sunlight. After a 12-hour
flight delay and two cancelled flights my plane and I arrived in Alaska. The
airline felt that my luggage would be more comfortable in Seattle for a few days.

But I am not the sort of person who finds such things to be a cause for anxiety and I went on about the business of enjoying some of the most beautiful
country and diverse culture our nation has to offer.

There
are 8 remaining indigenous tribal cultures in Alaska, and hundreds of tribal
villages and communities. For the uninitiated like me, a visit to the Alaska
Native Heritage Center was an outstanding introduction to a world completely foreign to my knowledge base. Although a few hours of studying the history,
architecture, art and languages of eight nations barely begins to scratch the
surface, I gained a sense of respect for the unique cultures these tribes
embody.

At the end of the week, my fellow
students and I met at the Anchorage airport to begin an epic adventure. We were
to spend the next two months learning the finer points of glacier travel,
mountaineering, expedition planning, guiding and instructing. Ultimately, our
goal was to instruct and guide a group of Prescott College students for two
weeks in North Cascades National Park. First we’d hike the thirteen-miles along the beautiful blue-green Eklutna Lake to Eklutna Glacier. From there
we would live and travel on the glacier, a 38-mile traverse on skis, crampons
and on foot, lasting for weeks.

Aside from the limited food and water
we carried in our backpacks, we would have a helicopter drop food for our expedition at two separate points along our route. One food drop location was a
few miles in from where we entered the glacier; the next was near the far end
of the traverse. Little did we know at the time that our second food drop would
soon be ravaged by wild beasts. OK, it was probably just ravens – but the effect was
the same; most of our food ration for the final eight days of our trip vanished
before we ever saw it!

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Matt Seats

Competence: Wilderness Leadership (Adventure Education)Breadth: Environmental Studies (Land Management Policy)Favorite Place: I really enjoy Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, but Rum Point in Grand Cayman and the jungles and cloud forests in the Chiriqui region of Panama are pretty amazing too!On My Days Off I Like To: Rock climb, write, bike, hike, kayak and otherwise spend time outdoors.After I Graduate: I hope to split my time between teaching/instructing in the field, working on land management policy research and issues at the Bureau of Land Management (or other land management agency), and guiding international expeditions.

Amanda August

Competence: Human Development

Breadth: Cultural and Regional Studies; Adventure Education

My Favorite Place: Recently I traveled to Seattle and Rainier Nat'l Park and absolutely loved it. I also worked in the Sierra Nevadas last year and can't wait to get back this coming summer and explore more!

On My Days Off I Like To: Hiking/Climbing/Cycling, Check out what's new at the Picture Show, Tinker with projects, Letterboxing, Traveling with friends.

After I Graduate: Continue on to get my Masters, working in Non Profits serving under served Youth, invoking systemic change while promoting experiential education as a basic academic necessity. Canoe the Yukon. Travel South America. Open a brewery. You know, do it all.

Hannah Jean Marshall

Competence: A double competence in Wilderness Leadership with an emphasis in Gender studies, and The Political Economy and Social Justice Favorite place: Where ever I find my adventureOn My Saturdays Off I Like To: See what the day brings...

After I Graduate: I will be a rock star

Ruby Teegarden

Competence: Environmental PolicyBreadth: Music EducationFavorite Place: San Francisco/BerkeleyOn my Saturdays off I like to Read, be in the sun, cook yummy foodAfter I graduate I plan on making our food systems more sustainable, among other things.